Arjen Rudd
Arjen Rudd is the main antagonist of the 1989 buddy cop action comedy film Lethal Weapon 2. He is the corrupt and nefarious Minister of Affairs for the South African Consulate. He was portrayed by . Biography Rudd is a minister of affairs for the South African Consulate as well as a top South African smuggler. He warns Detectives Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh to call off their investigation after they discover he is attempting to illegally smuggle a large shipment of gold krugerrands. Rudd explains to them that he and his men are under diplomatic immunity, meaning the law can't touch them. When they continue to interfere with his affairs, Rudd sends his head of security Pieter Vorstedt to kill their cop friends one by one. He also has his accomplice Rika, who had become Riggs' new love interest, killed later on for her betrayal. It was also later revealed that he also ordered the murder attempt on Riggs a few years back because he was getting close to their drug smuggling operation, which Vorstedt handled, though it went bad because the one killed, rather than Riggs himself, was his wife Victoria Lynn Riggs, and covered it up to make it seem the whole thing was a car crash. Riggs and Murtaugh confront Rudd, Vorstedt and the rest of the South Africans at a shipping dock, bound for Cape Town. After Riggs kills Vorstedt by dropping a cargo container on top of him, Rudd shoots him repeatedly and nearly kills him, but runs out of ammunition. When Murtaugh aims his gun at Rudd, he holds up his ID, boasting of his diplomatic immunity. Murtaugh ignores this and shoots Rudd in the head, claiming that "It's just been revoked.". With Rudd, Vorstedt, and the rest of their henchmen dead, Riggs and Murtaugh have stopped their crime-wave and have avenged the deaths of both Rika and Victoria, thus allowing Riggs to put his demons to rest and he could get on with life again. Gallery Arjen Rudd 3.png|Rudd with his head of security, Pieter Vorstedt. Arjen Rudd 4.png|Rudd revealing his diplomatic immunity to Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh. Arjen Rudd 5.png|Rudd with his secretary Rika. Arjen Rudd 6.png|Rudd becomes frustrated with Riggs' constant tailgating. Arjen Rudd 7.png|Rudd ordering the deaths of Riggs and Murtaugh. Rudd's death.png|Rudd being shot in the forehead after boasting of his diplomatic immunity. Trivia *Originally, Arjen Rudd was actually going to kill Riggs in the film's ending as in Shawn Black's script. However, as the studio wanted Riggs alive for further sequels, Richard Donner ultimately opted to shoot two endings for the film: one in which Riggs died and the one in which he lived. As the latter one received the audience's liking, it was used in the finished film (yet the final shot of the film originates from the alternative ending in which Rudd kills Riggs). Had Black's planned ending been kept in the film, Rudd would have been a successful antagonist at some sort. Navigation Category:Corrupt Officials Category:Pure Evil Category:Elderly Category:Crime Lord Category:Criminals Category:Movie Villains Category:Action Movie Villains Category:Live Action Villains Category:Smugglers Category:Sadists Category:Murderer Category:Xenophobes Category:Failure-Intolerant Category:Deceased Category:Drug Dealers Category:Lawful Evil Category:Cowards Category:Greedy Category:Thief Category:Liars Category:Businessmen Category:Male Category:Destroyer of Innocence Category:Provoker Category:Mastermind Category:Non-Action Category:Egotist Category:Power Hungry Category:Leader Category:Arrogant Category:Abusers Category:Conspirators Category:Sophisticated Category:Faux Affably Evil Category:Control Freaks Category:Homicidal Category:Obsessed Category:Corrupting Influence Category:Delusional Category:Oppressors